The Specter
by WhiteTigress21
Summary: Natsu is one of the most wanted and dangerous assasins in all America. When Erza figures out the identity of the infamous 'Specter', she wants to use at the fullest his abilities in taking Fairy Tail to the top once again. But it is easier said than done when there are all kinds of traps everywhere.
1. Chapter 1

** The Specter**

* * *

The streets in Miami were now engulfed in darkness. No sound could be heard and the new moon was nowhere to be found. In the sky all the stars were completly missing and the fact that is going to rain soon could be very easily figured out.

The endless silence of the night was pierced by the sound of a gun being unsecured. Then two loud shots and the cry of wheels being forced against their will filled the air. The sirens of polices made their way through and the sound of increasing speed was heard. The very last sounds were another six or seven shots and the silence fell once again over Miami along with the rain ready to clean all the blood shed on the still warm cement.

* * *

** 1. Murdering And Assasination - Two Synonyms**

At the corner of the street a man dressed in a black sweatshirt with the hood on and black jeans with a gleamy chain hanging on the left side stood in the shadows, away from the bright cone the lighter was radiating. He was leaning against the building with a leg on the wall and both hands in the pockets of the sweatshirt. From the other part of the corner a black form appeared, also leaning only with the back against the wall.

"So...?" asked the form in a dark tone.

"I caught him." the hooded man responded. The other one chuckled darkly.

"Then you did your job. Can you prove it?"

"I got this for you." the hooded man said as he handed the other one what it seemed to be a small black leather box. The black form opened it and smirked. In the box was a white gem of the size of a large fist. It gleamed in the weak light and in had perfect forms only a master in artcrafts can polish.

"I can say you did your part! Great job! What else from the so well-known Specter! Here's your reward." said the black form as it handed a pile of 100$ bills. The hooded man counted the papers as the black form walked away. As he finished, the man smirked and put his money in his pocket as he vanished in to the darkness.

* * *

We are now in a chamber full of weapons placed on light walls. It had all kinds of guns from the small but usefull handguns such as a Ruger SR1911 to the monsters of riffles such as a Colt LE6920. In the middle of the room there was an office on top of was a shotgun Mossberg 500 ZOMBIE crumbled to pieces. The one making a check-up was a pink haired teenager, around 20. He was wearing a black muscle shirt and a pair of gray baggy jeans. He had a black earring in the right ear. He was making his job look rather simple just from the look in his eyes. Those obsidian eyes didn't show any kind of emotion, only cruelness.

He finished his work and placed the shotgun in its space, then head out from the room, entering a hallway. He heads to the living room and falls on an old and jaded brown sofa. He turned on the TV and running through the channels he stops on a certain one with some breaking news.

_"**The specter strikes again!** Last night on the streets of Miami, the multi-milionaire Scott Morrinson along with seven policemen and his personal driver had been shot and killed. The paramedics arrived to late and couldn't do anything to avoid the inevitable. The attacker is suspected to be the most deadliest criminal, to which we don't even know the identity, The Specter. Can I ask you why do you think he is the one responsible?"_

_"In all my experience as a cop, I haven't met a criminal who can hide his tracks this good. And one more thing; the victims were killed with just a bullet each. That's really odd and to be honest, neither I can't take all nine moving targets down with only nine bullets."_ said a very fat cop.

At that the pink haired snorted.

"I bet you couldn't take down even one moving target with the same amount of bullets." he said and then turned off the TV. The pink haired closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. He took out from his backpocket a SIG 226 9mm. He stared at the handgun as he stroked it with his thumb. He then put it back as he made his way for the door.

The house where he was currently living was small cottage, ready to fall to pieces in every moment. It had also a garrage in a better shape. It was located just behind a junk yard, the last one from the town and was somehow more retreated than the others.

The young man was walking through the now bathing in the sunset's orange light streets of Miami. He reached a section of the town where the four stories blocks were dominating. He walked leisurely on the street until he abruptly turned to the left. He started walking faster and then turned again to the left in a dead end. Somewhere on the right he opened a chopped wooden door and entered a despicable bar. He fell on a stained and ragged high chair.

"The same?" asked the black skinned woman behind the tavern.

The young man just nodded slowly. The woman dissapeared and then returned with a Johnnie Walker Red Label bottle and a short cilindric glass. He stared at the glass as the drink filled it to the top. Just when he wanted to take a sip, he saw a flash of red. He widened his eyes when he looked at his right and his sight fell on...

"E-Erza? Whatcha doin' here?" he asked the red haired woman who sat next to him.

"N-Natsu...It has been a while, huh?" asked Erza with wide eyes. "You've changed..." she said in a sad tone.

Natsu looked away from her. "So what are you doing here?"

"I happened to come in Miami to investigate the new crime. You see...after you left I've become a cop." she said.

"Really...That's interesting..." said Natsu, already bored.

"Your words do not reflect your thoughts." she said as her eye twitched."Anyway. What have you been doing? And why are you wandering around Miami? This town reeks of murders."

"I like it here." Natsu said, earning giggles from the barmaid. He glared at her and in a an instant the giggles stopped. Erza caught the change and narrowed her eyes at him.

"I was wondering; since you've been here for a longer period of time, could you tell me something about the recent crime?" asked Erza.

Natsu figured she was having suspicions and tried to get out of the problem."Well, it was done with bullets or something..." he said as he rolled his eyes.

"Do you know what kind of bullets?" asked Erza quickly.

"Remin-(cough)...uhm..no.." Natsu said, alarmed by the fact that he was actually going to tell her. He rapidly put the glass at his mouth and took it all down.

Erza was stunned. The bullets used were some Remington UMC 40 and he almost got out the first word. She figured by now that he was hiding something and took action.

"Would you mind if we'd drop over at your place? Just for a few minutes. I'm curious where you live." and it wasn't a lie. When he heard that, he chocked with his drink. He coughed roughly to take out the liquid from the wrong pipe. He then stared at her with wide eyes and turned his head away from her. He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"Ok... Why not...But I warn you...I live in a pretty crumbling place." he said with his eyes closed.

"I don't mind. As long as it's livable".

* * *

"That's not livable at all..." Erza said with a sweatdrop. Natsu just stared at her.

"Told ya..." he said as he made his way to the door. Erza took notice of the handgun from his backpocket. Natsu hadn't ever took any weapons with him when he just went out...before. However she followed the pink haired through the frontdoor.

Indoors it wasn't much. A small hallway which separated the 5 pieces of the house: the bathroom, the kitchen, the living room and a room which she suspected in was a dorm and another one in which she hadn't entered. All chambers were poorly furnished, the rooms barely having the basic objects.

Erza sat on the sofa, at Natsu's impulse, while he went into the kitchen for a drink. He returned with a Brandy 7* at 2l and two glasses. He poured the liquid in one and handed it to the red haired. He poured in the last one, sat on the sofa and then drank from the bottle. The woman sweatdropped at the scene and the took a sip. She then stared at the bottle with wide eyes.

"Wow. You really drink only very good ones, don't you?" Erza asked.

"Quality it's what I pay for, after all." he said. Erza giggled.

"You were always the one who got the drinks when we had a party in San Francisco, so what should I expect for? That until she died..."

The red haired startled when she heard him bang the bottle to the floor. She stared at him.

"If why you're here is for you to remember me of the past then you'd better leave." he said darkly.

"Actually...You've changed in all points of view, right? You know hunt down and kill people for money." she said sadly. Natsu stared at wide-eyed.

"Y-You a-already know about...?" he asked.

"Yes, I know. I came here to make my assumptions clear. I hoped you weren't the one I was seeking for, but I was wrong..." she said looking at the floor.

Natsu now stared at her in awe."So you're gonna arrest me or something, now?"

"No, I won't. I just...can't..." she said. Natsu raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you gonna get in trouble if you won't?"

"If I would arrest you, you'd gonna get executed, you know that don't you? I have other plans for you..." she said smirking, but still looking at the ground."You're going to return back home." Erza then looked at Natsu who was asking her with his eyes."...yes, back in San Francisco...Well that until Jellal is going to tell us what should we do."

Natsu was looking even more confused.

"Okay, I'll explain it on the way back home."

"Whoa, Whoa! Hold it! Who said I'm going back? And anyway, I have over 50 guns and 1,5k ammo that I really don't feel like leaving behind."

"That's quite of a quantity...Don't worry about it, though. If I'll say that all those were asked to be distributed by Jellal, they won't have a thing to say about it."

"But...I really don't wanna go back...All these years I tried to forget that cruel place. And to turn back now...it will be more like a trauma..." Natsu mumbled with closed eyes.

"Don't worry... We won't stay long anyway. San Francisco is just a meeting point."

Natsu looked at Erza before moving his gaze. He sighed and looked back at her.

"Okay. What do I have to do?"

"Use all your skills in the upcoming missions you'll get. I will tell you other details on the way. Get ready. Tomorrow morning we'll head out. I'll come pick you up. Also!" she said as she was rising up."What do you have in the garrage? I don't see any reason to keep that place in one piece."

"A little project on a race car. Want to see it?" Natsu asked with a little smirk. Erza only chuckled and the man took it as a 'yes'.

* * *

As Natsu opened the door at the garrage, Erza's mouth opened a little bit and her eyes widened as she was looking at a black and gleamy Ferrari FF. The pink haired smirked at her reaction.

"You like it? After I was done with her, she had over 700 horse power. I also added a nitrous mod. She has a V12 engine and it can reach 62 mph from a perfect 0 in just 3,7 seconds. I don't use it very often because around here there aren't good races, though I found out that I like to gallop on streets with over 120 mph." he grinned at her. Erza looked at him with wide eyes.

"You really had to get a monster of a car to feel good, did you? And anyway, this thing must cost a fortune. How did you get so much money to pay for it?"

"That's for me to know and for you to never find out..." he said darkly with a dangerous look in his eyes. Even Erza could feel a little shiver running down her spine.

"Okay then. I'll pick her up to." she then walked away."See you tomorrow." she said with her back facing him and waving goodbye. He only smirked and got in the car. He then drove over and stopped beside her.

"You wann' a ride?" Erza smiled and without any word got in. Natsu then pressed the acceleration and the vehicle jumped forward as its wheels cried out loud enough to break your eardrums. Seconds later the black mobil had already disappeared in the darkness.

* * *

Natsu woke up early in a cold sweat. He hadn't had any nightmares so he found it quite odd. He got dressed only in some white pants and let his upper part revealed. It was rather hot inside for some reason. He also had a black necklace; a rather small in size black symbol of the eye of God ( not that he was a satanist ).

Erza rang at Natsu's door early in the morning and she was greeted by a live view of Natsu's muscles. And she had to admit that he was absolutely hot... She blushed a very light shade of pink at the thought, but Natsu managed to make the difference between the usual color her cheecks had and the current one. He smirked at the red haired woman.

"C'mon inside and wait for me a little." said Natsu.

He then went in his dorm to put something on and found a red T-shirt. When he was finished with the preparation of all the weapons he had, he was also ready to go.

They took a plane to San Francisco so they would arrive around 6:43 pm. They had about 7 hours to discuss about everything. Being at the 1st class, they had very little company. Why did they took a 1st class flight? Erza wanted some privacy. Even so, between the two teenagers was a deep and uncomfortable silence. The red haired was desperately trying to figure out the best way to abord the subject.

"So why did you leave in the first place?" Erza asked. She thought that it would be better to start from the beginning. At the sudden question, Natsu shifted and continued to avoid Erza's gaze.

"When she was shot, I was barely able to see something from all the fury built in me. I literally saw everything in red and didn't even notice when I raised my hand to shoot the guy responsible for her death. Then I started to come back to my sences and I saw his body lifeless and bloody. The cops were already in the area and when I saw how many of them came I panicked. I got in the car and drove away as fast as I could." Natsu said as low as he could, for only Erza to hear him. He made a small while he sighed and then continued his story."All these past years, I travelled from town to town, never staying more than 3 or 4 months to evitate getting suspicious around the cops. I halted in Los Angles, San Diego, Tucson, Ciudad Juarez, San Antonio, Houston, Jacksonville and stopped my journey in Miami, where I took a liking on the city." Natsu stopped talking.

Erza was hard staring at him and opened her mouth to say something, when he put his hand on it.

"Why I haven't returned in San Francisco? I just couldn't bring myself to show up in front of you. Just in the first days while I was gone I managed somehow to kill more people than I killed in my entire life. In just one month I started murdering people without any hesitation and before I knew it, I was living from taking other people's lives."

The red haired sighed."Very well then. The situation at Fairy Tail wasn't bright either. We were already sad because of her death and your disappearance. We started to enter more conflicts with the other gangs and now we are in a complete war with Phantom Lord, Oracion Seis and Grimoire Heart. It was a time we weren't on good tearms with the cops either. That before we got Jellal as an F.B.I. agent. It wasn't enough though and I also became a cop. But our main conflict in these days was with Phantom Lord. They wrecked one of our bases and after that we had constant attacks in different location while we couldn't even track them down...And so we had to move our main base from town to town and God knows how we survived like that all this time." Erza, from where she was staring at the ceiling, moved her gaze to Natsu and he almost startled at the view of her face. The current situation Fairy Tail was in definitely pained her a lot... "Natsu we really need your help..." the said teenager gulped loudly.

"..Ok...What do you really want me to do?" he asked locking his gaze in hers. She smiled at the sentence.

"Just like I said, we have to wait for Jellal to return with info about their location. After that, you have to get in their base and cause as much damage as you can. I don't think I ask to much from you." At that Natsu smiled darkly.

"You know that what you just asked me to do is like requesting a devil to bring hell down on Earth, you know that, now do you?" Erza looked at him with narrowed eyes and a challenging smirk.

"Of course. Why do you think I asked the devil for this job after all?..."

"I like how you think, Erza. I'm proud to call you my comrade." said Natsu.

"Oh, and one more thing..." said the red haired."Do you know how to actually drive a car?" She asked with her chin in her hands. Natsu stared at her.

"...and win a race?" Erza nodded thoughtfully. Natsu burst out laughing. The red haired raised her eyebrow at the still laughing Natsu. Finally, he stopped and also whipped a few tears away from his eyes. He looked at her in an ironical manner. "Does the horse eat oats? Well, I can say I haven't lost one race since I started running, but what do you say if I'd show you what I've really got?"

Erza smiled at the confidence the boy was emanating."I can barely wait to see."

"Be careful. You might lose sight of me." he smirked saying so. Erza looked at him and her smile only widened. She moved her gaze out on the window, where the sky was slowly turning more of an orange tone. Natsu leaned on the back of his seat and put his hands under his head as he closed his eyes.

* * *

It was past 8 pm and the Union Street was almost deserted. A car passed by every now and then. A certain black Ferrari FF was stopped at the number 905 on that street. And a certain pink haired teen was in the driver's seat. He wasn't even moving an inch as he was waiting for a signal from his red haired friend. 'How long will she keep me waiting?' he thought as he started to get impacient.

_FLASHBACK_

_"Okay, so you'll wait here for my signal." Erza said. "I will shoot to the sky. When you hear the gun you'll start driving. The track is straight and has 4 miles. I will be at the finish. Your objective id to take the shortest time to reach the finish. I'll clock and you need me to show all you've got, understood?" _

_"Yes, ma'am!" Natsu responded in military style._

And so he was already waiting for some good long minutes. He closed his eyes as he was shaking his head. He locked his gaze on the road once again and waited. Then from the distance it was heard a loud BANG! and he pressed the acceleration hard, shifted in the fourth gear, getting a speed of 90 mph in less than 10 seconds. The speedometer had currently reached 137 mph and continued increasing. He shifted in the fifth gear as his speed got over 150 mph. He waited until the speedometer hit 163 mph and activated the nitrous mode. The car dashed then at other 200 mph and advanced rapidly forward. At last the car passed by Erza, making her clothes and hair flutter, and stopped graciously. He got out of the car and walked over to the red haired. She was staring at the car wide-eyed.

"Wow. I can already say without even looking at the chronometer that your time was incredible."

"Thanks. Now can you look at that screen and tell me my time?" he asked with a sweet smile.

"Look for yourself!" said Erza as she shoved the clock in front of his eyes. On the clock was written the next numbers: 8'24".

"Wow. That's a hell of a good record!" ( **Author's Note:** _The time__ indicates that the medium speed was over 150 mph the whole distance. _)

"Now I can say you really know how to drive and win! Congratulations! From now on you'll be the one to represent us in the street races!"

Natsu looked at her with a confused face. "Huh?"

"That was a test. I wanted to see if you could beat the other records. So I'll tell you once again: Congratulations! From now you'll represent Fairy Tail in the upcoming street races!"

"But I don't specialize in street races! I'm a 5* level wanted criminal and expert in assasination and weapons ! But I'm not a street racer !"

"Too bad... Now you are and that's it!" she said putting her hands on her hips. Natsu didn't say another word."You will sleep at my place for the time being. C'mon let's go!"

The two got in the car and drove off with the already characteristic cry of the wheels. But the two of them were unaware by the presence of a man in the shadows watching their every move. As they disappeared in the horizont the man smirked and died down in the darkness.

* * *

**So what do you think? I wanted to try something new! Something that included crimes and bullshit like that. Excuse me for the expression, but that's the truth! Please review and tell what do you think.  
**

**One more thing: the idea of the begginning is somewhat resembling the fanfiction's "Fast and Fiery" by darkfire1220, but don't worry I'm not copying it! I love that story and I think that its writer is awesome! Check that story out too if you like this kind of stories. Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Specter**

* * *

"So you're saying he is one of them now?"

We currently are in dim lit room. A man dressed in a white tuxedo stood on chair, cross-legged, smoking. He had a white hat on, mafia style, so we couldn't see his face. Another man, seemingly taller, was standing in front of him with his arms crossed. He had a very long and messy black hair, red eyes and lots of piercings.

"Yeah. I saw him with Scarlet. Apparently he's also a street racer now. And he's not too shabby at all." the taller man said.

"Oh? I'm impressed! Coming from you, Gajeel, it means he is something. Very well. Continue watching them and report all what you see." The one addressed as 'Gajeel' nodded. He turned around and exited the room.

"..Mmm...Fairy Tail took measures, eh? No problem! This way I will be the one to collect the reward for 'his' head...Ku-ku!" said to himself the remaining man in the room.

* * *

**2. Failure is the path to success (or so it seems...) - Part 1  
**

Natsu was sleeping in a large and comfy bed with a small and satisfied smile on his face. He was hugging a pillow tightly and he was nuzzling it from time to time, also chuckling doing so. And he seemed to be enjoying a very pleasurable dream. Too bad Erza had to say something about it...

Just then the door got slammed into the wall with enough force to shake the entire room. At the sudden noise he startled and opened his eyes wide, but regretted it when he saw the face of the red haired. He started shaking as he compared her to Medusa. She dashed to the bed and scared Natsu even more, making him jolt from the mattress and land with his head on the wall.

"Natsu! Why weren't you up by now?" she asked enraged.

"What are you talking about?" he asked as he rubbed his back of the head and walked over to her. He looked at the clock on the nightstand. "It's only 5:30 am!"

"Exactly! You should've been up 30 minutes earlier! We have to meet up with Jellal at 6 am! Now move your lazy ass and get ready!" she said and she stormed off, closing the door with to much force and so a part of the painting cracked. Natsu sighed as he rubbed his eyes to get rid of the sleep from them and headed to the bathroom.

* * *

"Can't you drive faster?" asked Erza. She and Natsu were now inside his car, going to Glen Canyon where they were supposed to meet with the others.

"Erza..I've already passed the limit by 30 . How fast do you want me to drive?"

"Well if you would've moved faster earlier this morning then you wouldn't have to drive faster..." she mumbled. Natsu snorted.

"It is my fault the rendez-vous is set to early for me?"

As they reached the destination, they got out...only to see that they were the first arrived. A vein popped on Natsu's forehead.

"You said we had to be here at 6 am. It's already half-past and no one's here!" said the pink haired pissed off. Erza tried to get smaller to avoid his wrath to be poured on her.

"M-Maybe it-it was set f-for 7?" she asked weakly as she was bringing her index fingers together. Natsu just stared at her and let out a sigh.

_30 minutes later_

A gray Dodge Charger SRT made his way on the deserted road to the Glen Canyon. It stopped right beside a black Ferrari FF. Leaning on the former car were two teenagers: a red haired girl and a pink haired boy. Out of the the other car got out a light blue haired teenager.

"Erza! Good to see you! And you've brought Natsu back in San Francisco, too!"

"Good to see you, too! It wasn't that hard to find him anyway..."

"Okay, that's lovely and all, but can we get to the subject now?"

"Wow, you've really changed a lot..." said Jellal.

"Thanks." said Natsu with a sweet smile.

"Right. Gray should arrive any minute now. After that we can move on to the plan."

And just how he said, in a couple of minutes a dark red Ford Evos appeared next to the other cars. A raven haired teen appeared from inside and ran towards Natsu with an out held fist. It connected to the pink haired jaw which made him stumble backwards a few steps.

"Ouch..." he said as he glared at the newcomer as he stroked the pained area. The over one grinned at the scene.

"Well that feels better." Erza and Jellal stared at him in disbelief.

"Really, Gray, really? That's how you say 'hi' to someone you hadn't seen for over two years?" scowled Natsu.

"Yeah, whatever..."

"I found the location of Phantom Lord's base. It's in Richmond, not very far from here. Let's get into the cars and let's move out." Jellal said that while he headed to his car, soon followed by all the others.

* * *

The trip last around two hours. When they reached the base, they started some preparations. "Gray!" said the blue haired teenager.

"Yeah, yeah, I got them." the said boy replied. He got to the car and got a small black box. He headed back to where the others were, he opened the box and revealed four bluetooth-based single earphones. "Put them on and we can keep in touch."

"And now the plan. Natsu will enter the building while we stay out on guard. There are three entrances: one in south, one in north-west and one in north-east. Erza will take southern one, Gray the north-east and I the last one. Natsu you will enter through the ventilation."

"Huh? And can I ask you why? If I enter through the door, I'll get more attention and it'll be more fun!" said Natsu in a serious manner.

"I should've expected that." said Jellal with a sweatdrop. "Okay, Natsu enter however you want, just tell me when you do that." Natsu smiled happily. "You have to break that thing to pieces, got it?" the pink haired nodded excited.

"Natsu, what did you bring?" asked Erza. Natsu smirked as he turned to the car.

"I thought you'll never ask." he opened the trunk and looked at the others. "You might want to check all of them and then pick."

"What do you mean?" she asked as she went to him. She then widened her eyes at what she saw. The other two stared at each other then walked over to the others were. They looked inside the truck. Jellal widened his eyes and Gray voiced his thoughts exactly.

"Oh My Fucking God!"

They stared at four Blackheart M92 AK-s, two DPMS MOE Warrior Carbine-s, one Gatling Gun, four Kimber Stainless Pro-s and over 20 grenades. And about 120 ammo for every gun.

"So? What do you want?" asked Natsu with a smile.

"I'll have two Kimbers." said Erza as she raised her hand.

"I'll go with DPMS." said Jellal.

"And I with a Blackheart." said Gray.

"Yey! So I have the Gatling Gun!" said Natsu excited. Although he also took about 10 grenades with him.

* * *

The base wasn't very attractive... If you'd ask Natsu he'd tell you that it was abandoned. All the walls were cracked everywhere, leaving large parts of paint and rock to just hang out. The building had around 150 m square and didn't have any kind of details, just some holes which were supposed to be windows probably, which was plain odd, the painting itself being a muddy white.

The four teenagers split up in the movement, leaving everyone on their own... except Jellal and Natsu, the former heading to the same entrance. He somehow figured up that that was the principal way out of the building.

As they made their way to the entrance, Jellal took the chance to discuss some private matters.

"Natsu, care to tell me where have you been for all this time?" he asked.

The said boy blinked. Then rubbed the back of his head, trying to decide if he should tell him or not. He trusted the guy, but him being in F.B.I. could get him in trouble if he had the information. The pink haired decided it wasn't his job to think about this so he took the world on his shoulders.

"I've traveled through many towns, then I just settled down in Miami." Jellal scowled.

"What were you doing there?"

"Well...um..." 'should I answer directly?' He thought. "Enjoying my time?..."

"Are you asking me?" Jellal said looking at Natsu. "What were you exactly doing?"

"...earning...money..."

"From what?"

"P-Part...-time job..." Now Jellal was also curious and suspicious.

"And what might that be? You've continued with your passion in weaponry as I can see..." the blue haired man said, looking down at his DPMS. Natsu remained silent for a moment then sighed and let it out.

"I've become an assassin actually." at that Jellal widened his eyes. Then he came to a realization. '_The Specter is very well known mostly for his accuracy._' He remembered an old sentence he'd heard from one of his superiors. He gulped at the thought, but didn't dig any further into the subject as they arrived at their spot.

"_I'm in the spot._" the two of them heard Erza's voice into the earphone.

"_I got there, too_" this one was Gray.

"We're ready to get this over with, then." Jellal said into the microphone. He nodded to Natsu and he nodded as well as he got the message. He positioned himself in the front of the door and then with a strong kick he opened the door. He immediately took the stance to shoot, but widened his eyes when he saw no one.

It was a large room with big wooden boxes used definitely for ammo and guns at the corners. He scanned the area and slowly started to move forward into the building. He reached a door which was slammed too into the wall, revealing another empty room, this one most likely used as a bar. He looked inside of it and again found nobody.

He frowned in disappointment and frustration. He decided to contact the others.

"Jellal are you sure this is their real base?"

"_Yeah. What of it?_"

We go now back at the blue haired mentioned above.

"_There's absolutely no one in here and the whole place doesn't look like it was used recently. _" Jellal stood there for a moment to process the whole thing out.

"B-But that's impossible! I've checked only yesterday to be sure!"

"_Sorry to break it to ya, but the thing is completely deserted._"

The others, who could also hear their conversation, were as stunned as Jellal.

"_Natsu, you sure you've checked the whole thing up?_"asked what it seems to be Erza's voice.

"_Yep. If you want I can make sure that here's no living being left._"

"_W-What are you talking about?_"

"_Oh, you'll see..._" responded Natsu, his voice muffled.

And back with the pink haired, he was currently holding four bombs in one hand as he was pulling out their key with his mouth. He instantly threw the green spheres and ran to the door.

Back with Jellal, he was looking at Natsu as he rushed through the exit.

"DOWN!" he yelled as he dragged him behind the wall. As soon as they hid, orange flames erupted with a loud BANG! from the building. It then started to crumble down from inside out. The two teenagers left their spot and put some distance between them and the building. When the noise died down, Jellal and Natsu had to get off their earphone as their comrades were screaming curses directed at the pink haired.

"_WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING! COULDN'T YOU AT LEAST WARN US BEFORE YOU BLOW THE WHOLE THING UP?_" that was spoken by Gray while he and Erza were spitting other curses.

"_Natsu, just you wait! I'll punish you severely for this!_" Erza said in a venomous tone. And Natsu shivered as he thought: 'Medusa!'

"Are you two both alright?" asked Jellal, a bit worried.

"Yes, but not thanks to that pink haired idiot!" Gray's voice was heard from behind as he and Erza were heading towards the group. But what caught Natsu's attention was the perfect replica of Medusa which was mirrored by the red haired. She walked over to the pink haired, caught him by his ear and dragged him to the car. The other guys could only pity him for what shit he got into. As soon as Erza got in the car with Natsu, the car started literally shaking and from its insides could be heard sounds of punches and slaps. The other two could've sworn they also heard a bone cracking...

* * *

The way home was made in deep silence in the black Ferrari. Even if the two got over their previous issue, they were in a bad mood. Natsu because he didn't get to spill some blood and Erza because she didn't get to break the necks of some phantoms rolling around. At some point they arrived in front of Erza's rather small mansion. Natsu pulled out the keys from contact and the two of them just stayed there for a couple of minutes.

"You know, our gang is running low on money." said Erza, breaking the silence.

"And how's that supposed to concern me?"

"It concerns you because our income comes mostly out of races and since you're the one in charge of driving, you should take action." she said. Natsu looked at her.

"Really?... And what exactly should I do?" he replied.

"The day after tomorrow is the monthly race between gangs. Since you're our representative you'll race for us with one of our cars so you won't take any collateral damage out of it. The prize is 5 000 000 bucks but also the track is very dangerous and tricky, every participant being able to use any kind of weapons when racing."

"And how are the money divided?"

"You'll get your share of 1 000 000 and the rest goes to the gang." Natsu snorted.

"And why does the gang need money anyway?"

"Weaponry, cars and the building itself needs reparations from time to time. And some of the members also need to borrow some cash."

Natsu sighed. "Very well then...What do you have in store for me?" At that Erza smirked.

"Let's go to the basement and see. You won't be disappointed..."

* * *

The basement was currently located in south. A trip of about one hour... As they parked the car, Natsu shivered at the thought of seeing his comrades again. As he and Erza entered through the doors, all the people there gasped and widened their eyes at him. Two tears went down the face of a white haired girl. 'M-Mira' Natsu thought with wide eyes as looked at the barmaid. She changed a lot since then... The pink haired's eyes darkened as he looked away. Erza saw the change in the mood and made him a sign to follow. They went down a dark hall and stopped in front of the door. Erza took a glance to the pink haired's face and cracked a smile. She next opened the door and let Natsu enter into the what seems to be their garage.

For starters, it was a huge room. There were placed all the cars they had along with the guns in their recipients. But as the pink haired looked around, his jaw dropped. Erza really enjoyed the view. Unfortunately, he closed the gap fast and started walking around all the muscle cars. His sights landed on something really 'nice', if you know what I mean... It was dark gray Mustang Shelby GT500.

"You have nice tastes in cars. V8 engine that'll pump up to 662 hp. It also has a nitrous mode. Master thought it would be a good choice to add one to the model. And it's all yours to be taken." Natsu was already drooling as he stared at the car.

"Haw-haw!" he said as he rubbed his hands to one another."This baby will soar through the streets! Can't wait to see what she has to show me!"

"Well, over 200 mph at top, that's for sure.." she said. "Take your time preparing it!" Erza then exited the room. The pink haired wiped his drool off his face and got to work.

* * *

Natsu was in his new car, standing at the red light. When it turned green, he smirked. 'Let's see how you know to roll, babe!' He shifted into the second gear and dashed forward, achieving 60 mph in less than 4 seconds. He shifted into the fourth gear and the speed was continuously increasing. As it reached 110 mph he stabilized it for a tight turn. He shifted into fifth and reached 140, the number only growing. He put it in the sixth gear and when the speedometer hit over 170, he turned into nitrous mode, jumping up to 197 mph. He started slowing down and then stopped at another red light.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning lit the clouded skies and the thunder roared. The rain started pouring. 'Great,' Natsu thought. 'exactly what I needed.' His attention though got drown out by a feminine silhouette running through the raindrops. Her silver hair fluttered behind her in a heavy way, giving the weather conditions. She wore a long dress, probably pink, the tone being muffled by the darkness. Even so, Natsu recognized it perfectly.

"MIRA!" he shouted as he got out of the car. The silver haired's attention fell on him, a smile cracking on her face. "Come and get inside or you'll catch a cold." the girl nodded and headed to the car's door. The two got in almost simultaneously.

Mira looked at the pink haired with a soft smile. "Thanks."

"No problem." he said as he ruffled his hair to get the water out."What were you doing outside on this weather anyway?"

"Well, I was going home. The rain surprised me." she said with a light blush.

"I think I remember where your home is...Balboa Street, right? Very close to the ocean."

"Exactly." Natsu shifted into first gear and got moving. He changed into second gear and kept a constant speed of 50 mph.

"So how have you been since...you know what..." he asked in a soft voice.

"I tried to get over the shock for a long period of time. I wasn't easy at all to live without her." said Mirajane looking at her feet. Her face got even more gloomier as she continued speaking. "And the fact that it was all my fault didn't help."

"Mira, it wasn't your fault. If I were to blame someone for all of this, I'd blame myself. But doesn't even matter. It won't bring her back and it won't get the things better. Trust me." he said in a very kind voice, trying to reassure the girl. He looked at her turning all his head to the left. Mirajane also stared at him with wide eyes, also taking glances to the road.

"Uhm... Natsu shouldn't you be looking where you're going?" she asked worried.

"I trust you enough to know that you'll guide me if anything goes wrong." he replied calmly. Mirajane widened her eyes, then blushed a little, a smile spreading on her face while she turned her head to look at the road. Natsu continued to look at her for a moment then looked back before him also with small smile.

The rain stopped abruptly, typical for this time of the year and the clouds cleared revealing the waxing crescent moon. The two looked at the luminary, fascinated by its looks. It seems to be brighter and bigger for some reason. They arrived firstly on the shore and they had a little more to go forward and then turn right.

"Would you mind if we'd stay a little on the beach? It's nice outside." Natsu glanced at her before giving in.

"Why not? I don't have anything scheduled anyway..."

And so Natsu parked right in front of the beach. They got off and Mira ran off on the sand, barefoot. The feeling of the wet sand under her feet was pleasurable and she was enjoying it very much. The pink haired was only staring in awe at her, before waking up from daydreaming and dashing toward her, a smile spread on his face. Mira giggled and ran away from him. He chased after her and when he finally caught up, he lifted her up in bridal style and made sure she wasn't going to run off somewhere any time soon. He then sat down on the sand, putting her down next to him.

"It's very beautiful. I've been here many times at night, but I never saw the moon shining like this...Or I don't remember." said Mira. Natsu took a short glance at her before closing his eyes. The breeze was feeling so good against his tanned skin.

The sound of a sneeze made him open his eyes though. He looked with a raised eyebrow at Mira, who was whipping away her nose tenderly with one finger. When she felt his gaze on her, she blushed a bit. But her blush only reddened when he put his arm around her shoulders and replaced her in his lap, rubbing her back as he tried to warm her. She instantly felt better and she wrapped her arms around his torso.

They stayed like this for a few minutes, before Mira finally looked up, only to see a pair of onyx eyes gaze down at her. She blushed even more and the color in her cheeks was almost comparable to Erza's hair. But even so, she also started to stare in those eyes. That until each one of them realized what was doing.

Mira shot up from his lap and he also got up, the girl all flushed up, the boy with a little tint of pink on his face.

"I should take you home." he said "Your brother might be worrying."

"Tonight, he's not coming home so I'm all alone..." she said and then continued with a thought that made her blush again '...to be taken.' She slapped herself in her mind for even thinking of something like that.

"Oh, really?" asked Natsu as he started to walk to the car, followed close by Mira. "You sure you'll be alright? Want me to stay a little or something?"

"If it's not troublesome." she said with a shy smile. Natsu waved it off with his hand.

"Not at all."

* * *

They got out of the car after parking it before a two-story mansion. The garden itself wasn't very big, but the house was huge. The two entered through the front door, being greeted by silence.

"Make yourself home." Mira said with a soft smile as she made her way to the kitchen. Natsu entered the living room and remained stunned by how many photos she had from when they were kids. The sight only made him melancholic. He grabbed slowly one of the photos of a silver and short haired girl, definitely younger than Mira, with the same blue ocean eyes and a kind smile on her face.

"Lisanna..." he whispered. In his mind he could almost her giggle. He sighed and put the photo back in itself.

"It has been almost three years since then..." he rapidly turned to face the voice alarmed. She found Mira looking in sympathy at the picture. "Can I ask you where have you been? For all these years...and to not show up just once...I thought you died or something..." she whispered.

"I had been traveling for most of the time, not settling down until I got into Miami. I took a liking on the city and the last almost years I've spent there."

"Miami?! But there had been all those murders...You really could have get yourself killed, you know that, don't you?" she asked worriedly. Natsu sighed and closed his eyes shut.

"I've been the one who committed all those murders. I was living out of killing people, short to say." at that, Mira's eyes widened in horror.

"W-Why did you killed that many?" she asked.

"Money. I'm an assassin, Mira. That's how I live...And I can't say I regret anything I've done. The people I killed had lots of sins on their souls anyway. All I did was take a one way ticket down to hell for when I die." Mira shivered at the words, then let out a heavy sigh.

"I can't say that these words and all you've done until now would please Lisanna in any way, but all the people at Fairy Tail aren't that pure after all..." Natsu chuckled.

Mira then put on the tea table the drink she was holding along with two wine glasses. The bottle contained St Vincent Sunset Rum and the pink haired liked her choice. She poured the brown liquid into the glasses as Natsu took a seat on the sofa. He took in a sip and his face twisted a little from how strong the drink was. He then exhaled deeply. Mira, on the other hand, took a large sip took it all down at once. Big mistake. She started coughing and she beat herself with her hand over her chest and barely managed to calm down. This made Natsu giggle again. You could very easily see she wasn't quite the drinker, in fact almost the exact opposite of Cana. He took the remaining part down with one gulp and he was totally unaffected. Mira stared at him in disbelief.

"You have experience in drinking, no joking..." Natsu chuckled again evilly with a smug grin on his face.

"If you want I can teach you to win a contest against Cana." she shook instantly her head.

"No, no, no! Not a chance... I don't want to become vicious...like you or her."

She watched him snatch the bottle off of the table and start gulping down its liquid. He put the bottle down when he finished and out a long exhale. A tint of pink was making its way on his face. He got himself drunk. Then, Mira literally slapped herself across her face, earning a raised eyebrow look from Natsu. She had completely forgotten that he had to drive his way home.

"Natsu...How are you going to get home if you're drunk?" she asked in a guilty manner.

"What do ya mean?" he asked, obviously drunk.

"You can't drive in your state!"

"And why's that?"

"It's a law!"

"Yeah and what about it? Laws are made to be broken..." Mira face palmed at his last sentence. She sighed in defeat. Knowing him he won't listen to her anyway...

"Okay, but promise you'll be careful..."

"Mm? We're breaking up so soon? I haven't finished the bottle yet!" he complained with a pout, extending his arm to the bottle.

"And you never will! Or at least not tonight." said Mira determined, also snatching the bottle from the table. She rose up and headed to the kitchen.

"Noooo! Mira! Please don't do this!" she laughed at the manner he was saying that. The white haired reached for the cupboard, put back the bottle and turned around only to see Natsu in front of her... and very close. She blushed as she saw he was staring directly at her face. He leaned over her a little with a scolding look.

"Mira, I'm not that drunk yet and I really want to take one more sip." and he screeched out his hand to the cupboard.

"No, Natsu! Don't be such a kid!" she said, grabbing him by his wrist. It didn't affect him though as he clenched the handle. She pulled hard of his arm and she somehow slipped and landed on her back. Natsu, at the sudden weight, lost balanced and fell on top of Mira. They stared in each other's face with wide eyes, blinking. Their faces were at mere centimeters distance. 'Kiss him! Kiss him! Kiss him!' small voices were telling her inside her head. Without even noticing, she was pulling up to shorten the distance between them. And Natsu wasn't moving at first, but slowly dived down to her face. Their lips connected and stayed like this for awhile, closed eyes and living through the sensation. Just then realization hit Natsu hard in his head.

He jolted up right, panting a little from the lack of air. He looked at Mira with wide eyes.

"Sorry for that." he said as he helped Mira get up. Then it hit her too. Her face got red as she stammered to response.

"Th-Th-That's a-a-alright..." she managed. Once she was back on her feet, Natsu rubbed the back of his head and looked away.

"I should get goin' then... It's getting late..."

"O-Okay. " she said, becoming a little disappointed.

They headed to the door and the pink haired walked out of the mansion. Natsu got into his car and drove away not without letting out a loud roar with his car. Mira smiled and waved 'good bye'.

* * *

Erza was sleeping peacefully in her bedroom. Rays of sunshine made their way through the windows, bathing her bed in light. Little by little, the light got very dense and it was shining down Erza's face. The red haired opened her eyes as she woke up only squeeze them at the painful brightness hitting her dilated pupils. She yawned after she adjusted to the light and slowly rose up from the bed.

She firstly went into Natsu's room for no reason...but she found it empty. She searched in disbelief after the pink haired and when she decided no one was in there, she went down in look for him. And just when she arrived in the living room, she saw a scrabbled piece of paper on the arm of the sofa. She took it up to her face to read.

_Good Morning!_

_I went out to look for some ammo and other stuff. Don't worry, I won't take too long._

_Natsu_

Erza frowned. After he got home drunk with the car, she really started to have doubts in the fact that he can take care of himself. She sighed, thinking it wasn't her business anyway. She crumpled the paper and walked to the kitchen, throwing the small ball into the trashcan.

* * *

Around the sunset, a pink haired boy got out of a gun shop. He was holding a large box in his left arm as he moved to a black Ferrari. The Mustang was only used for car racing to keep it in its best shape.

Just then, a white haired teenager walking into the opposite direction almost bumped into him. The white haired managed to avoid the impact and continued walking. He took a few steps forward as well, before stopping and turning around. The white haired was staring at him with wide black eyes.

"N-Natsu?" he asked doubtfully. The said teenager widened his eyes in recognition.

"Haru..." He then smiled. "Long time, no see, pal!" The white haired continued staring at him with wide eyes. He then smiled and approached the pink haired. They had a fist bump just before Haru's face gloomed.

"So where have you been all this time? I thought you've died that night..." he said narrowing his eyes.

And so to speak, Haru's been Natsu's partner in his jobs for a period of time, the two becoming very close. That until Natsu went missing one year ago...

Haru would appear to be a brat with nothing heavy hanging on his heart. However, he's been alone for almost his entire life, not even remembering pretty much about his parents or over siblings. He grew up on the streets, earning money by stealing from others. He barely had a shelter and the world was always very cruel to him. Having no one to teach him what to do and what not to, he started around 14 working with weapons of a large caliber. Haru was enhanced with a pair of golden eyes and always liked the guns with a very high accuracy. He started to even kill the persons he's choose as targets only for their goods. He was always on the run to never get caught by the police. They somehow managed to catch him when he just hit 17. He got into the juvie for a whole year before reaching the maturity age and being sent to prison for a full 10 years; reason: voluntary manslaughter. However he barged out relatively quickly. After that, the skies pressed even harder on his shoulders when he lost everything he got over the years because of the confiscation the cops put him through. Just when he thought of committing suicide, he met Natsu in Tucson. The former had left San Francisco for 4 months already. He initiated him in the secrets of the assassination missions and helped him get over the darkest time of his life. Haru also worked with him in terms of accuracy, getting him to achieve the title of Specter. In all missions, Natsu was on the front, always in close combat, while Haru was watching his back from afar. They always relied on one another and traveled together from town to town. And for almost a couple of years, Haru finally felt that the life wasn't that bad, but one day the truth about the world hit him hard in the head when the one he considered his brother disappeared without a trace while on a mission.

The pink haired's smile died down and looked into the ground, ruffling his hair. "Well, that night...The mission didn't go as planned..."

_FLASHBACK_

_Natsu was sitting on a chair while making a detailed check up on an Arsenal SA rifle. The thing got damaged on the previous mission and he just couldn't tell what's wrong with it after repairing the busted part; the rifle didn't shoot straight anymore and it was one of the best they had. Sweat was rolling down his face after the whole staring and rubbing he'd done on it. When he got to a point, he reassembled it and tried to see if he got the thing to it. The target was missed by less than a couple of inches. He let out some curses while hurriedly and carelessly unraveled the weapon for the forth time that day.  
_

_A light chuckle was heard from behind, one that made Natsu stop and look at its owner. He let out a low growl in annoyance and got back to work._

_"What do you want, Haru?" he asked grumpily._

_"I never saw you until now having any problems in fixing any firearms. It's kind of amusing..." Haru said, at the last part he barely managed not to laugh and Natsu noticed. That made him growl again, but this time in frustration. He sighed and tried to calm down, whipping away some of the sweat on his forehead then got back to work._

_ He stared at the rifle from all angles and in all holes. At one part he remained checking it. He narrowed his eyes, thinking he saw the problem. The interior of one of the parts the bullet was supposed to take its coarse was visibly dented and hindering its trajectory. After looking even more intense, he got to the resolution that it cannot be adjusted and that he'll have to change it. He rose up from his chair and walked to the storage. Haru was watching all his moves intently. The pink haired looked desperately through all the spare parts he had and panicked when he saw none of what he needed. It was already 11 pm and one certain store would have to be closed at this hour. The worst thing was that they had another job tonight and Haru needed especially that rifle. He hit his head with the steel door of the room, trying to remember where could he had put it elsewhere. His eyes widened when he remembered that he put that part in the kitchen. He dashed past Haru who was staring with a raised eyebrow at what was happening into the kitchen and opened the counter tops one after another. He finally found it alongside the cutlery. The pink haired checked if it was the right piece. When he was sure it was exactly what he needed, Natsu rushed to the scattered rifle. He rapidly made the change, rebuilt it from scraps and tried it again. This time, he hit the target.  
_

_Natsu grinned and handed the firearm to a stunned Haru._

_"C'mon! Try it and tell me what you think!" Haru took the rifle and did exactly how he was instructed, leaving an awe-staring Haru at the machine._

_"Wow! You really are an expert..." the white haired said. Natsu rubbed the back of his head._

_"Thanks... Well we should head out...is already half past." the pink haired said as he looked at the clock on the wall. Haru nodded and prepared his weapon for the trip._

* * *

_As they got to the place, Haru went on a roof of a block from where he could see all the area Natsu was going to patrol. They also had communication systems so the two of them could keep in touch.  
_

_The white haired leaned with the abdomen against the floor, waiting for Natsu or for anyone to make a move. His partner was still in their car, a black Porsche 911 Turbo, waiting for their target to appear._

_Suddenly, an ear-splitting sound roared across the black roads and a green Plymouth dashing at exhuberant speeds entered in the view. The porsche jumped forward with loud wheel cries to stop the Plymouth. The black car slammed into the other one, sending the last one crashing into a wall._

_Haru's face twisted when he saw the damaged front of his car. However, he kept looking at the scene. Natsu already shot the wheels of the green vehicle, making it stay in one place. The pink haired got out of the car carefully, using the car's door as a shield while he pointed his gun at the Plymouth and he stood there for 30 seconds...1 minute...2 minutes...until he decided to approach the car. The other teenager took glances at the car, thinking that something was wrong. The fact that no one moved was disturbing him. At a closer look, he saw something like a electronic clock with green digits. The thing was that it was showing seconds. 15 seconds...going downwards..._

_He widened his eyes in shock and just before he could contact his teammate, he saw him running like crazy in the opposite direction of the green car. Just when he hid by the corner of a building, the Plymouth erupted in large orange flames and a loud BOOM! The sheer heat and some rubble reached even the white haired. Just when the explosion died down, Haru looked at the corner where Natsu was supposed to have took cover, but just from over there he heard a bunch of shots. Without thinking he shouted the name of his friend for him to then see Natsu running with his left hand clutching his right part of his neck. He entered an abandoned building which happened to be nearby and hid in there.  
_

_Then the whole gang they were after entered in the scene. Haru remained shocked by the large number of guys._

_"Natsu, can you hear, me? They are too many of them for us to handle!" he said in his device._

_"_No shit!? I didn't know that!_" he practically shouted sarcastically._

_"Can you get out somehow?" Haru asked._

_"_No, I'm surrounded..._" Natsu responded._

_"Don't worry I'll clean them all..." Haru said, changing the angle of his rifle. He pointed and prepared to shoot as fast as he could. Hit after hit, the bodies were falling to the ground as he was making his job. When he made erased all of the aggressors, he descended not before telling Natsu to head to the front entrance. In the said point, Haru found the pink haired leaning against the wall, again with the left hand covering the right part of his neck. When he saw his blood dripping, he instantly got next to him and get his hand to the side. The sight of the wound scared him. The blood was flowing from a horizontal gash._

_"How is it?" Natsu asked weaker then usual. Haru put some pressure on the wound with his hand to not let anymore blood get out.  
_

_"Not very nice...The blood won't stop coming." But Natsu wasn't listening anymore. He was looking at the detached hey of a grenade from mere meter distance. He searched with his eyes the grenade and found what he was looking for in the hand of one of the corpses. Without even thinking, he pushed Haru to the side with enough strength for the former to stumble backwards about 4 meters. Natsu ran back into the building to take cover._

_All happened so fast for Haru. He first got thrown back by his friend and just when he was about to yell at him he saw the pink haired walk back into the block. Then a very loud BOOM! echoed through the air and out of instinct Haru takes a few steps back. Fire spread everywhere and the white haired lost sight of his comrade. He then saw the building starting to crumble down in the right side. Another BOOM! and the block just fell to the ground engulfed by flames. He just stared at the mass of fire before him, feeling the heat in his face.  
_

_He widened his eyes in realization and pure fear. _

_"Natsu!" He ran to the building, but a big wave of flames made the passage impossible. He put his hands before his face to cover it from the heat. Soon sirens were heard in the distance. He hid in the shadows and watched the firefighters do their job. Polices were soon at the incident's place, but Haru was long gone by then..._

* * *

_Natsu entered the building, to take cover from the explosion. The loud BOOM! produced by the grenade was soon heard and the place was flooded by fire. With a hand against his wound, he ran to a back window. He jumped through it, shattering the glass, just when another round of flames was set ablaze. _

_When he got out of the building, he heard through his pants the sound of sirens approaching his location. Fearing it was the police, he ran away from the place, stole a car and drove away to a peaceful place to tend to his wounds. The rest wasn't enough but the cops catching him off guard got him into a crazy run for his freedom past the borders of the current town he was in...and never returned. _

* * *

While telling the story, Natsu and Haru were walking through the streets lit by the dim rays of the sunset. When they stopped talking, they stopped walking as well.

"Why didn't you turn back for me at least?" asked Haru in a sad tone. Natsu looked expressionless to the ground without telling a word.

"I don't know..." the pink haired finally responded in low whisper. "I really don't know...Like how I don't know why I haven't returned to San Francisco in the first place..." Haru snorted softly.

"Guess I should leave the matters how they are. It won't change anything if I keep questioning you." Natsu looked at him. Then he looked at the sunset...sunset...he told Erza he won't take long... One by one the parts connected, the result making Natsu shiver uncontrollable.

"Y-You know, I think I should get goin' if I value my life...See ya!" said Natsu nervously, before turning around and running like crazy. Haru watched him disappear around the corner with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged and continued walking forward.

* * *

"I'm so dead! I'm so dead! Oh, fuck, I'M SO DEAD!" he kept telling to himself, while running like crazy to his car. However, an acute scream made him stop. Considering the high pitched sound it was most likely to come from a woman. He looked around with wide eyes as his right hand grabbed his gun from the back pocket. The sound came from somewhere in his left. Stepping slowly in the direction his ears indicated him to go, he heard sounds of kicks, slaps and punches getting louder. When he arrived at the source he saw a blonde fighting a rather one sided battle against a rather tall man with dark blue hair. The man was heavily beating the poor girl with everything he got. That made Natsu's blood literally boil. Without a second thought, Natsu shot the man in his neck, killing him in an instant.

When the man just fell over limply beside the blonde, she looked at her savior.

"Thanks." she said smiling. Natsu walked over to her and helped the girl stand up. She had dark bruises all along her body, but nothing too severe.

"What did that guy want with you anyway?" he asked rubbing the back of his head. The girl look at the ground before responding.

"His name was Bora and he was a terrorist who mostly raped women in violent manners. By the way, my name is Lucy!" she said. Natsu stared at her before smiling.

"Name's Natsu." he said. "So you were one of his victims?" he asked folding his arms.

"N-no..." Natsu raised an eyebrow at the response then frowned. "It was my mission to capture him dead or alive."

"Mission?...Are you an assassin or something?" he said while he tilted his head to the side. Lucy sighed.

"No. I am part of a gang and my master ordered me to do this." she said as she bent to grab her dropped gun. 'SIG Mosquito' he thought. '...pink...' "Maybe you know the gang maybe you don't but I'm a part of..." pause while she sighed and her eyes shadowed "...Phantom Lord..."

Natsu's eyes widened as his mouth opened a bit.

* * *

**And that's a little cliffy! Fuck.. this chapter took me some good long days to write down... However, leave a review and tell me what you think... So, if there is someonewho doesn't know who Haru is, then I'll advice you to watch the sixth OVA of Fairy Tail. Bye!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Specter  
**

* * *

_**Previously on The Specter:**_

_ "...I'm a part of..." pause while she sighed and her eyes shadowed "...Phantom Lord..."_

_Natsu's eyes widened as his mouth opened a bit._

* * *

** 3. Failure is the path to success (or so it seems...) - Part 2  
**

The pink haired just stared at the blonde in pure shock. Suddenly, he grabbed her hands and pointed his gun at the girl's throat. Lucy looked at him with wide eyes, but before she could say anything, Natsu directed her a death glare.

"Tell me everything you know about them."

Lucy looked at him in disbelief. Natsu pressed his gun harder against the skin on her neck and she startled.

"Wait! Wait! I'm not an important member anyway so probably I don't know what you want!"

"Do you at least know where those bastards have their base now?" asked Natsu, narrowing his eyes even more. Lucy blinked.

"What do you mean by "now" ?" a vein popped on Natsu's forehead.

"Don't play dumb with me! Aren't they changing the place any now and then?!" he literally yelled at the poor girl. Lucy cringed back a little at the tone.

"We haven't changed our base since I've joined and that's about one year ago."

Natsu was about to pour his anger out again but remained silent as he got a hunch about what was going on. He retook his composure in the matter.

"Then where was their base all this time?"

"San Mateo." she said with a straight face. Natsu stared at her as he narrowed his eyes. He sighed and took the gun away from her throat. He got up and tied Lucy's hands with a newly found rope. The blonde frowned.

"Hey! Wait a minute! Ask me what you want and leave me alone!" she yelled. When Natsu started dragging her over to his car, Lucy started screaming even harder. "Son of a bitch! Let me go!" she said this part through gritted teeth and almost growling.

Somehow the pink haired managed to put her into the car. When they were good to go, Lucy asked normally:

"So where are you taking me?" Natsu turned on the engine and drove away from the parking lot. He answered without even looking at the girl.

"Over to one friend of mine. She'll be the one interrogating you…" Lucy humphed and looked away through the window. She realized the speed the pink haired was driving at when she saw only a blur through the glass.

"Slow down! We're gonna crash if you continue like this!" just then Natsu took a tight turn at about 120 mph and Lucy was almost going to fly out from her seat. "Are you freakin' crazy!" she scream, making Natsu cringe at the high pitched voice.

"Shh…Calm down… We're not gonna crash or something… Although I'm disappointed not a single cop spotted us…It could've been fun to outrun them…" he said in a sad tone. Lucy started to sweat as she tried to get out of the car. Without luck, though, due to the cuffs Natsu put at her hands, attached to the seat. That's also why she didn't put her seat belt and didn't fly out.

Natsu slowed down at some point, being the fact that he was near Erza's house. He parked in the front and approached the mansion with the hostage well immobilized. He stopped right in the door, shivering with the whole body. Lucy didn't miss this and frowned.

"Are you alright?" she asked not pretty much out of concern for the boy.

"Yes, but I don't think I'll be for long…" he answered. Lucy just stared at him before Natsu clenched the knob and pressed slowly. The door flung open revealing… 'Medusa!' Natsu thought and cringed as he closed the door harshly. Erza, though, had other plans and almost broke the door as she made her way to reach Natsu and to drag him by the collar indoors. She slammed him into the wall, falling to the ground.

"And where do you think you're going without even telling me, huh?" she asked with a strong glare as she prepared to deliver a powerful punch to his face but didn't get the chance when she realized that there was also another person in the room. She turned her head to look at Lucy who was trying to put some distance between them but stopped when she saw the red haired locking her gaze on her. Lucy started sweating as she smiled innocently and laughed awkwardly.

"And just who you might be? Does Natsu have plans with you tonight or somethin'?" Lucy startled when she heard that.

"No, Erza…You know I don't like blondes." Natsu said in a bored manner as he stood up. "I brought her here because she might know something about our issue."

Erza looked at Natsu confused. "She's a member from Phantom…" At that, Erza's eyes filled with rage as she looked at the blonde and prepared for an assault. Lucy cringed and paralyzed in fear right on the spot. Just when Erza was about to jump on the blonde, Natsu kept her from attacking.

"Wait, Erza, we have to ask her, not kill her…you know what I mean, now do you?" he said the last part with a mischievous grin on his face. Erza looked at him and answered with the same kind of grin. When both of their gazes landed on Lucy, she couldn't do anything but gulp in fear.

* * *

"WE HAVE ONLY 4 CARS USED FOR RACING!" screamed Lucy when, apparently, Natsu squeezed hard her ass. Erza nodded slightly as she looked at the floor and cupped her chin, then moved her gaze on the blonde before her.

"What kind of weapons do they have?" the red haired asked. Just then, Natsu released the hold on Lucy's butt, much to her relief. She thought on the answer before speaking in an uneven tone.

"W-Well, I'm n-not s-s-sure... Th-they h-had bought s-s-some n-new stuff just recently and I-" she startled when Natsu squeezed her breasts this time. Her face reddened and burst out all she knew. "THEY HAD AROUND 10 SHOTGUNS AND 30 HANDGUNS. I SWEAR! THIS IS ALL I KNOW!"

Natsu seemed pleased and let go of her boobs. She instantly snaked her arms around her, looking with a red face at the ground, embarrassed.

"Very well..." sighed Erza. "So they're hiding in San Mateo..." she said as she chewed on her nails thoughtfully. Natsu leaned against a wall, folding his arms and looking at the red haired. The blonde looked from one to another and started feeling a little anxious.

"It would be best to inform Jellal in this matter and let him investigate the building and members from afar. He should be able to figure out how to deal with this...Meanwhile! Wasn't the race supposed to be tomorrow evening?" said Erza.

Natsu scratched his right cheek with his index finger as he looked at the door with a poker face.

"Yeah, and...? What about it?"

"Just reminding you..." said Erza as she stood up from the chair she sat on while interrogating the blonde culprit. "I hope you won't be gone tomorrow like you were today... That's for both my interest as for yours..." Natsu's finger stopped moving as he started sweating a little, although he didn't loose his bored expression.

Erza walked past him and headed for the door. Right before exiting the room she called over her shoulder.

"Natsu," the said teenager looked at the girl. "would you mind to let Lucy sleep in your room? I don't feel like preparing the guest room and if you're okay with it I'd rather let her sleep with you."

Lucy's face turned red as a tomato when she heard that, but what troubled her even more and intensified the color was Natsu's response.

"No prob." He then looked over to the blonde and he squinted his eyes. "Hmm... Maybe it wouldn't be that bad to have some fun with a blonde after all."

By that point, Lucy has had it. She punched him hard in his face.

"You won't get the chance to have fun with me, you play boy!" she shouted. As Lucy let her fist down from his face, Natsu clenched and rubbed his nose slowly, as to see if it was broken or not. However, it did bleed...

"Calm down! I was just joking..." he said as he looked at her in disbelief. He then turned around and started walking to his bedroom. As he entered, he rapidly tossed his red t-shirt somewhere in the room, leaving him only in his black jeans. As Lucy entered too, she was greeted by a half naked Natsu. She felt her cheeks get warm at the sight of his well toned muscles.

"Soo...Where am I going to sleep tonight?" she finally asked. Natsu looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Erza's already told you that you're sleeping here."

"Well yeah, but I don't think she wanted to sleep in your bed, right next to you, did she?"

Natsu looked at her and blinked a few times. "Where did you think you'd be sleeping if not next to me? You can't levitate, right?" he said quizzically. He took off his jeans, remaining in only his boxers, and jumped onto the soft mattress. "You wouldn't mind to turn off the light, would you?" he asked with his voice muffled by the pillow under his face.

Lucy stared at him naked in the bed before doing how she was asked. She walked out of the room to find a bathroom to change. When she got back, Natsu was already asleep. She let herself fall onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. Of course, her face was red, but it wasn't very easily seen because of the darkness in the room. Even with the naked beast snoring silently next to her, she fell asleep, faster than she thought.

* * *

Natsu woke up rather painfully than abruptly when he fell off the bed on his back. He groaned and snarled in pain. When he finally got other the ache in, he rose up on his butt to look directly into Lucy's face. She was lying sprawled all over the bed even on his half of bed with her head almost hanging in the air, so she should be the one who pushed him off of the bed.

He let out a low growl directed to the one person who woke him up from such a good sleep at just... 6:30 am. He stood on his feet and headed for the bathroom, mumbling something about 'women who wake him up without any reason at an unbelievable early hour'. When he returned into the bedroom Lucy was awake, although still lying onto the bed. He put only his jeans on and looked over to Lucy, who was now on her side of bed.

"Do you know if your gang's participating today?" Lucy looked at him before locking her gaze to the ceiling.

"They're not going to..." she said. Natsu kept looking at her before heading out to Erza's garage. Here he found a black Ferrari, a dark grey Mustang Shelby and Erza's green metallic XJL Portfolio. He went to the Mustang and started a very meticulous check-up.

Lucy, out of curiosity, followed Natsu all the way into the garage. She kept staring as he was doing his work.

"Curious, aren't we?" the voice from behind made her startle. She looked at the owner of it and found Erza looking at her with a small smile. The blonde responded with her own smile. She considered the red haired to be a very kind and thoughtful person. Although sometimes... a bit too...revealing...as to now she was dressed in only her underwear.

"Oh, Erza! Mornin'!" Natsu said. Lucy turned her head to look at him and saw that he was still gazing at the car. As soon as he looked over to the newly appeared person, he widened his eyes a little and blinked before returning to the car. Lucy's mouth was agape at how little reaction did he have.

"Natsu, be ready by 7 pm. The race should start around 8." said Erza before turning around and leaving the other two alone. Not for long because Natsu finished almost as soon as she was out of sight. He let the hood down and whipped it clean.

"Good... I finally finished..." he said as he sighed. "...and I need a shower." He turned around to exit the garage, but not before throwing a french key he had in his right hand with his back facing the box he should've put it in. Much to Lucy's awe, the key landed in its box.

* * *

At the entrance of a large canyon, just into the gape, a large mass of people were gathering. From all the preparations the place endured we can easily see that all of the people were about to watch a big race. The canyon seemed to be just like a giant maze and the race was guided by all the vector signs that were scattered by the edge of the improvised road of rock and grainy sand of a red-orange color when the cars had to take turns. Overall, the track was pretty straight without the eventual tight or loose curves. One by one, 4 cars were assembled at the starting line - a dark grey Mustang Shelby, a white Challenger SRT, a red Camaro ZL1 and a black BMW i8. And all of that before 8 pm.

Everyone was cheering and they could barely hear one another. A beautiful black haired woman appeared in front of the crowd, dressed in snow-leopard leather-like skinnies, black fur lined high-heeled boots and a grey loose shirt with a thin black belt. She also had a gun in her right hand. And one more thing; she was Ultear and the annalist of the race, member of Grimoire Heart.

"May I have your attention, please?" asked the woman in a honey-like voice. As soon as she said that the people were dumbfounded. She giggled at the sudden silence. "I will be let you know when to start. The race consists in around 5 miles of open road. You have to follow the signs you'll encounter in your way in order to get to the checkpoint. It will be the point where the signs are telling you to head back, a very tall column, circling around it."

While she did the talking, the four racers made their way to the cars. One was Natsu, wearing his black jeans and a white muscle shirt, approaching the Mustang. Then we have two blondes; the one with short and spiky hair walked over to the Challenger, while the other one, with long and messy hair, headed towards the Camaro. And the last one, a man with black hair slicked back and gathered in a bun on the back of his hair, walked to the BMW.

To be more precise, the three unknown racers were, in the order from above, Sting, Zancrow and Bacchus, from the other participant gangs Sabertooth, Grimoire Heart and Quatro Cerberus.

As soon as they got into the vehicles, the cars let out almighty roars. Ultear giggled again.

"Ready?" Another set of loud roars. "Set..." Silence as Ultear raised the right hand to the sky to shoot the signal. "GO!" There was heard a loud BANG! as she said so.

The cars jumped forward at incredible speeds, engulfed by red dust and the loud cries of their wheels. For the first seconds, as they were accelerating, the distance between all of them was very small, but as soon as their speed stabilized, Sting took the lead, followed very closely by Natsu, Zancrow wasn't very far behind either and Bacchus... well, he couldn't even drive straight, waving all the time and keeping a pretty slow pace. They continued like this as they slowly increased their speeds until all of them, except Bacchus, reached 160 mph.

Back at the others, the members of the participant gangs were watching every single detail of the race through a giant LED screen, used for every street race the gangs were having. On the track were put several micro-cameras so everyone could see easily the development of the contest. The system was a very complicated one, even if for the specialists it was more like a piece of cake, so we won't dig us up into the full description.

"Go Sting!" The Sabertooth's mostly women were cheering for their representative while the men were smirking and taking short glances to the other gangs' members.

At Fairy Tail the atmosphere was very tense. They weren't cheering like the others as they watched and waited in a painful suspense for Natsu to make a move. He was currently in Sting's butt, trying to overrun him, but the Challenger was always getting in his way, rendering his attempts useless. Erza was growing impatient with him, mentally begging him to seriously take action. The cars weren't far away from the checkpoint already and the first half of the race will be almost decisive. She clenched her fists hard as she bit her lip. Lucy was watching the screen with wide eyes trying not to lose anything.

Back with Natsu, he growled a little when he got held back again by 'that blonde haired bastard'. Even so, he knew he could outrun him very easily if he wanted to, but where would be the fun in doing so if he was going to win without even breaking a sweat? The current situation wasn't very interesting anyway, but the cat always plays with the mouse before killing it, isn't that right? He started to yawn after trying hard to stifle it, but without luck as the race was very boring for him. So he failed to notice Zancrow approaching with high speed in his right... He startled when he felt a very powerful blow. The car's wheels started to shriek in pain as the car itself was more like gliding on the road to the left. The cause?... '_Zancrow! Damn that bastard!_' Natsu thought as he looked in his right and saw the blonde pushing him to the left and trying to make him lose control of the car. The blonde was crazily smiling and laughing at him. The pink haired glared darkly and snarled in anger at the newly appeared obstacle.

Back with the crowd, Ultear started giggling silently at the scene on the screen. '_So you finally took action, huh,...Zancrow?_' she continued to stare at the screen as she watched Natsu's car losing from its speed and slipping to the left. Zancrow was putting very much pressure on the car, trying to find a point so he could make it spin around. Meanwhile, Sting was leaving them behind at high speed and Bacchus merely succeeded passing them. Natsu was standing his ground though, but couldn't get free from Zancrow's grip. Ultear's face furrowed a little. '_How much longer are you gonna stay there? The others are bringing near the checkpoint, you fool!_'

With Fairy Tail, Erza was watching anxiously the dark grey Mustang slowly skidding of the road. She gritted her teeth in anger. '_Natsu!...Do something..._' Lucy looked stupefied at the large screen. She then gazed at Erza and saw how worried she seemed to be her friend. She then realized.

"Erza!" the red haired looked at the one calling her. Her eyes widened a little as she saw who was.

"Lu-Lucy? What is it?" The blonde looked at her like shaken.

"If I am right, they clearly forbade two months ago sabotaging like that other competitors..." she said. Erza blinked forcefully at the realization. She felt herself boiling inside when she remembered whose guild Zancrow belonged to. She spun around and walked out to Ultear. As the former took notice of the red haired's presence, she honey-like smiled at her.

"What would you know? Erza... Long time no see... Enjoying the sight?" Ultear's smile got only bigger as she said the last part. Erza's eye twitched at what she just said and she would've shared Ultear a piece of her mind if it wasn't for a loud sound. The two women's eyes widened at the same time. Although, the reasons why were more like opposite.

Erza looked at the screen and then realized the reason she heard that sound. From where he was tackled down by Zancrow, Natsu put a sudden brake and accelerated before the car stopped completely. His car got behind Zancrow's and at the jump of speed, mustang shot forward, taking a sharp right, but even so, he hit the red Camaro in the right very hard, making him spin around furiously until it bumped into the wall with its right in a 180 degrees change of position. The red haired smiled and looked triumphantly at a stunned Ultear.

"I am, actually..." she said brightly and returned to her previous place. Ultear gritted her teeth and punched something in her left, felling like doing so - a member of her fellow gang.

Fairy Tail was cheering like crazy at the sudden turn of events. They were currently watching how Natsu was continuously increasing speed, the sensors telling them that he had already achieved 170 mph and he was only going faster. The others, even Bacchus, had already turned around the column-checkpoint and were now heading back.

Natsu reached the point and he could already see the BMW and the Challenger. He didn't even slow down when he took the tight turn. He skidded to the side but without losing control, leaving only dust and loud cries behind, and shot forward at 180 mph to outrun the other cars. He got past Bacchus and was now going along Sting. The former was trying to block his path again and Natsu could feel himself boiling inside. He cooled down when he heard a maniacal laugh from behind.

Before even trying to look back, he saw a black blur get passed him in the left. Sting's jaw literally dropped when he saw it was Bacchus. But then he saw another blur in his left, one a shade more light.

Natsu was speeding to catch up to Bacchus. He activated his nitrous mode and he ran at over 200 mph. When Bacchus was very close to the finishing line, a grey blur got past him and finished the race with a difference of less than 1 foot.

The crowd at Fairy Tail was in ecstasy when they saw Natsu pass the line first. Bacchus was right behind him and Sting soon followed. And Zancrow... He was out of commission from the powerful impact his car suffered. The grey Mustang slowly stopped moving in front of its driver's gang.

As soon as he got out of the car he was tackled to the ground by an overexcited Lucy, all giggling and shouting. The others looked in disbelief at the scene, all except Mira, who was blushing a faint color of pink as she smiled, a part of her wishing she was in Lucy's place.

Lucy then realized what she was doing and got up with her cheeks red.

"S-Sorry..." she said as she looked to the ground.

"It wasn't that bad I can say..." Natsu said as he got up with a flushed poker face. Lucy looked at him with wide eyes, getting even redder from what he said. She did what she thought it was right to do: she kicked him hard in the groin area. Natsu's eyes shot out at the pain. He bended over and fell to the ground, groaning and holding his crotch. All the men who saw the scene paled and instinctively kept their legs closer to one another. Erza looked down at the pink haired in disbelief as Lucy laughed awkwardly.

"I like your style." Erza said. The men looked at her with terrified looks on their face.

"A-and I...mhmm...stayed under the same...hmmm...roof with you for all this time..." Natsu said still groaning.

"Oh, my! It seems I missed some interesting events around here!" All the members of Fairy Tail turned to look at Ultear. Erza growled at her and the black haired woman didn't miss that. "Stay calm, Erza, I'm here to award Natsu and your gang." She then held out two piles of money. At that Natsu stood up albeit with difficulties. From the crowd a short old man appeared jumping excitedly.

"4 000 000 bucks woo who! 4 00-ahem...I'm the master of Fairy Tail." Ultear looked in disbelief at the old man while all the other members facepalmed. Natsu recovered the fastest.

"Very well then. Gimme my part and I'm outta here..." he said to Ultear.

"Alright, big guy, here it is..." she said giggling and handing him his pile. Snatched his money and turned to Erza and Lucy, the girls he came with.

"Ready to go?" Erza nodded and walked over to the car. Lucy though, just stood there looking to the ground. Natsu stared at her with raised eyebrow.

"Um, Lucy, if you still feel bad about that embrace earlier don't worry about it... and you can do it as often as you want." Lucy raised her head and slapped hard Natsu's right cheek. He didn't even flinch, because he already knew she'd do that if he'd say something like that, but he thought it'd cheer her up. Even so, it...hurt. 'Ouch, it'll leave a mark for a while...' he thought as he rubbed his cheek.

"It's not about earlier." Lucy finally said, although her cheeks were more pink than usual. She looked down again, her face slowly turning to normal. She bit her lower lip and let it out. "I would like to join Fairy Tail!"

Natsu stared at her with wide eyes. He then gazed over to Erza, behind him. She had almost the same reaction, except she was frowning a little. As she met his gaze, she turned to the master.

"Master?" All the attention was turned over to the tiny dodderer. He had his arms folded and his eyes closed, frowning like he was in deep thought. He finally opened his eyes as he was still frowning.

"First of all...I need to know...something very important." he said and as soon as he finished he walked over to Lucy. The blonde gulped as the others were focused on their master. He stopped in front of her and looked up at her face. Lucy flinched at the hard stare he was giving her. Natsu, as he was watching the scene, narrowed his eyes at the old man's actions. From his point of view, the master wasn't looking at all at Lucy's face, more like at a certain lower point. He regained his composure when the master started circling around Lucy. He stopped behind her... 'Don't tell me he's gonna...' thought Natsu as he started sweating. Right then the master raised his hands and...he grabbed Lucy's butt, squeezing it.

The blonde took her time to process the master's actions, but reacted in an instant as she realized what he was_ still_ doing. Her face turned red and turned around furiously smacking Makarov hard in his head.

"YOU DAMNED OLD PERVERT!" she screamed at the little man. She then looked over to Erza and Natsu, the girl staring in disbelief as the other one had facepalmed and shook his head slowly. She heard a scornful female voice from somewhere behind her. As she turned around she saw Mirajane looking down reproachfully at the master. He was rubbing the back of his head as he said lowly an 'I'm sorry'.

Lucy sighed and recomposed herself.

"So can I join Fairy Tail?" she asked the master. The tiny old man looked up at her in surprise.

"Course you can! Why couldn't you?" Lucy widened her eyes before a bright grin covered her face.

"Thank you! And... That's all?"

"What did you think?" he said as he drank from a mug of beer he somehow managed to find. Lucy turned around to see Erza smiling at her. Natsu was smirking as he leaned against his car with his arms folded.

"Congratulations! Now let's get going... I'm hungry." he said as he stood up and entered the car. The two girls snapped when he turned on the engine and ran to the car. As soon as the last door closed the car started moving leaving behind the loud cheers of their gang members.

* * *

"And tell me again... why am I here?" asked Natsu while he carried countless bags of all kinds of clothes, some hanging even around his neck. And that's very normal when you get to go shopping around with two girls crazy about outfits. It happened that when Natsu said he was hungry the girls asked him if he'd like to go to a mall to get something. He agreed without even knowing what the two had in store for him. And so, Natsu slowly became their carrier for all the things they bought, chasing after them wherever they went.

"Because you wanted to eat out." answered Erza.

"If I remember right you were the ones asking me to come here." Natsu said annoyed.

"Oh, c'mon! Don't be such a kid!" said Lucy. "Are those bags really too much for you?" Natsu shut up at that as he did for the past... 3 hours now. And the most annoying part was that the two girls weren't even bothering to carry one single bag, leaving him with all the weights to hold on to.

"O! O! I have to buy that dress!" Lucy said before entering a store.

"Mhm? Which one?" asked Erza before following the blonde. A long, tight and creasy dress was what caught Lucy's eyes. It was of a deep red color and flaring from knee down, sleeveless and back empty. The dress was showing very well every single curve of Lucy's body...

"Very nice choice, Lucy. It really matches you." said Erza after staring at the dress from every angle.

"Really? I wonder if I really should buy it or not... What do you think, Natsu?" said the blonde.

"Well, if I would say that you should buy it, I'd be the one carrying it anyway. So wouldn't it be easier for me to tell you that it makes you look fat and doesn't fit you at all?" Natsu said as he stared with a poker face at her silhouette. Lucy giggled awkwardly at his attitude.

"Okay, I'll be the one keeping it if you say you like it..." she said.

Natsu gazed over Lucy from head to toe before giving the verdict. "Well, it suits you well, so it really wouldn't be a waste of money taking it..."

Lucy's cheeks turned a light shade of pink, like they did every time Natsu complimented her. "Thanks."

And so... Natsu got a new bag to hold onto.

"Lucy, you're such a big, fat liar..." mumbled the pink haired.

"Shut it! It's only one bag! Don't make such a fuss over it!"

"It all started with one bag..." said Natsu through clenched teeth. Lucy just humphed at this.

"Life's hard so deal with it!" she said before running towards another shop. Erza was nowhere to be found either. The boy lost her from sight a long time ago... So he remained with Lucy... who was currently returning with an annoyed look on her face, mumbling curses under her breath. Natsu chuckled as he crossed his arms and smirked at the girl.

"What do you know?.. The princess ran out of money..." he said teasingly. And that annoyed Lucy as a vein popped on her forehead.

"Shut it or I'll do it for you!" she said, raising her fist. But the 'friendly' chit chat was cut out short by the sound of gunshots and hysterical screams echoing near by.

And so Erza appeared out of nowhere... wearing a very revealing bikini with tiger print. Lucy gawked at the newly appeared red head while Natsu put a hand at his nose to make sure not to let it bleed. However, she was also the first to react.

"Would you stop staring and tell me what's going on?" the red head asked, pissed off.

"I really don't know. We just heard this ruckus and then you showed up." said Lucy.

Just then, a masked guy, dressed all in black, appeared from around the corner the guy, though, was pointing two handguns at the three. When he saw Erza,...his mask somehow got a darker spot just under his nose.

"Who are you and who sent you here?" asked Erza sternly.

"None of your business, chick, how about we go somewhere out of people's sight and..." he didn't finish his sentence as he received a strong uppercut to the face from Erza, who walked the distance between them while he was speaking 'trash'. The 'scumbag' recovered rather quickly. "You bitch!" he said as he raised his guns to Erza's face. The woman searched for her gun as well in her back pocket, but...Surprise! She was in a bikini with no back pocket nor gun. She looked with a terrified face at the man before her as he was preparing to shoot."Die, you little who... -agh!" the man screamed in pain as both of his arms were shot almost in the same time by someone from behind. Erza spun around to see Natsu holding up his gun in his right hand and the bags in the other, the gun still fuming a little.

"Son of a bitch!" the man growls at Natsu. He tries to hold his right hand up and shoot the pink haired, but fails miserably as another bullet pierces his left leg's muscles. He shrieks in pain before collapsing to the ground, dropping the guns from his hands. The two girls stared at the man while Natsu went over to him. He lifted the man up by the collar and forces him to look directly in his black and emotionless eyes.

"Who sent you here?" asked Natsu in a cold voice. Seeing that the man wasn't answering, he pressed his gun under his chin. "I'll ask again and you'd better answer if you value your life: who sent you here?" the pink haired asked once again in a dangerous voice.

"Like I'd tell ya! Fuck off!" the man said in a rather cracking voice. He gulped in fear when Natsu glared hardly at him. He put his gun in his pocket and ripped off the man's mask. Everyone's eyes widened at the man's face; on his left cheek was a big and nasty scar of the Grimoire Heart's emblem.

"So Ultear sent us this asshole to make sure we don't get home in one piece, huh?" asked Natsu rather ironically.

"What should we do with him?" asked Erza as she looked over to the pink haired. She watched him as he rapidly lifted up his gun and shot the guy in his head, blood splitting out along with pieces of his brains. Lucy felt sick at the view, as even Erza also had a disgusted reaction.

"Our first priority is Phantom Lord so we don't need to complicate with the Grimoire's bastards, at least for the moment." said Natsu as he let the limp body fall to the ground. "Let's go home. I don't think either of you want to stay here anymore..." he finished as he turned around and headed to the exit, but a hand on his shoulder stopped his movements.

"Wait. I have to change first." said Erza, she being the one to stop Natsu in his tracks. She spun around and entered a deserted shop, heading for the dressing room. Lucy raised an eyebrow before looking at the pink haired as he leaned against a wall with his arms folded. Very soon Erza showed up in her casual outfit and they headed together to the exit.

* * *

"So when's he coming back?" asked a passive Natsu.

"Jellal should be here tomorrow in the morning if all's going smoothly..." said Erza.

With Lucy on the backseat, Natsu driving and Erza on the front seat, they were heading to the former's place to spend the night. They were discussing about their next move against Phantom Lord since they had a favorable moment up on their sleeve: Phantom was running low on members for the first time in the last decade since founded. Or so Lucy said...

"As soon as he gets here we're out." she finished. "And one more thing: are you gonna use one of your weapons or borrow one from the gang? The last option is more profitable; you don't have to pay if you break it."

"Are you insane?! Definitely not gonna use those shitty things or so-called 'firearms'. Bet they can't even shoot straight. Plus, I never bust up a weapon I'm using. Why do you think I got that nickname? I'm not that superficial..." he said. Erza giggled.

"Thought you'd say that...so do you have one for me too? I agree with you about those things... After all, master always looks only for quantity not quality...unlike you, big guy." Natsu smirked at her words.

"You really think I wouldn't share with you? What kind of a gallant man would I be to even refuse such a beautiful lady like you?" said Natsu with a pronounced British accent.

"And you really know how to make a lady blush." said Erza in a playful manner.

"I can't say it's the first time a lady told me that." he said while looking at the red haired with a sly smirk.

"Cut the crap already, you two! Natsu don't go accelerating while not even looking at the road!" finally intervened Lucy. "And Erza don-...uhh...you know what? Erza, you're a very good model for that idiot over there!" Good she remembered in time who she was talking to...

"Tch...really?" asked Natsu as he gave Lucy a scolding look.

"Watch where are you going, you fool!" screamed Lucy when she saw that the car was heading directly into a headlight. Natsu slowly turned his head around as he avoided the obstacle before even looking at the empty road.

"So, Lucy, you say they are around 50 bastards at Phantom, am I right?" asked Natsu without looking at the blonde. He watched in the rearview mirror as she nodded at what he said.

"They have 10 shotguns and 30 handguns, but that doesn't really matter because...I was considered one of the best shooters back at Phantom." At that she stopped talking when she heard Natsu choke and cough. She raised an eyebrow. "What's up with you?"

"N-N-Nothing, j-just t-that y-you...you 'were considered one of the best shooters back at Phantom'" he coughed once more when he finished the quote making Lucy's eye twitch. "Ok, continue your story."

"Phantom doesn't really have dangerous assassins, only the Element Four and one nicknamed BlackSteel - I don't know him, I've never met him - are the ones you need to be careful with." said Lucy.

Natsu frowned at the mention of the name. '_BlackSteel... Where did I hear that before?_' he thought.

"That reminds me: why were you with Phantom if you wanted to join Fairy Tail in the first place?" the pink haired asked. Lucy startled at the sudden question before her face became all gloomy as her bangs shadowed her eyes.

"...That... My father is one of the richest persons throughout the country so he is very often targeted by all kinds of scums. He decided he needed someone to give him protection, one who knows what he's dealing with in these kinds of things." Here Lucy paused to take a deep breath. "He asked Phantom to do the dirty work for him and they...agreed, but with one condition: beside all the money my father gave them, they also wanted that I become a member...and my father couldn't be more lenient about the cost..."As she finished her story she let out a deep sigh.

Natsu gritted his teeth and the hold on the wheel tightened considerably. Erza was looking down at her feet as she squeezed her fist hard to the point they became white, also digging her nails deep into her skin.

"Did they do anything to you?" asked Natsu in a hesitant and trembling with fury voice. Lucy raised fer face to look at him before answering.

"No, they didn't. They tried, but as I said, I was considered one of the best shooters among them. So my reputation kind of saved me..." she said.

Natsu sighed deeply while Erza just gazed outside the window. Lucy stared at them before looking at the window, again, seeing only a blur.

"For God's sake can't you go a little slower, please?" asked Lucy in disbelief.

"Nope. I have a very accentuated 'Need For Speed' right now." he said like he had no care in the world.

Natsu pressed the acceleration even harder and the car jumped forward. A grey Mustang galloped at high speed on the moon illuminated streets of San Francisco.

* * *

**Sooo...what do you think? Leave a review and let me now if it was worth reading! The next update should be around 1st November so have patience. Probably I'll update on my other story first... One other thing: if anyone has ideas for this story, please do not hesitate to pm me, okay? I'd really appreciate it. And for those wondering, 'Failure is the path to success' should have around 3 parts.  
**

**Affectionately,  
~WhiteTigress~**


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